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Blogs

Roadtrips & Adventure

Motorway Service Stations Calendar - September

Stayed at a Travelodge in Kendal and then on the 1st of September went up to Annadale water services to tick off September - a trot of only 84 miles. Then tackled the 280 ish miles home which was much nicer with short stops off at Markham moor & leeming bar services. 641 miles covered in total in 2 days according to google maps, and apart from a couple of non starts (attached jump pack and she fires up so will get an new starter motor) #thegreencavvy was faultless and averaged 39.7 mpg on
Roadtrips & Adventure

Motorway Service Stations Calendar - August

8 of 12 Completed - Killington Lake 31st of August travel up to Killington Lake services, 265 miles, took the family this time which was a nice change but the traffic was rubbish on the A1 and M62 (yeah i know bank holiday). Then drove to Kendal to stay in a travel lodge before going to September's services
Roadtrips & Adventure

Motorway Service Stations Calendar - July

7 of 12 - Chester Services 402 miles completed today and 37 mpg in the old girl. 3 Stops in liverpool for photos and to meet up with friends and then had to stop off and Ellesmere port for a photo next to the big #vauxhall sign. Then the services before the 3.5 hour drive home - Took Stanley as the co-pilot this time and he didn't complain once about the singing and conversation or the amount of rubbish i ate - might take him along again. No rest for #thegreencavvy as next week we have #Festi
Roadtrips & Adventure

Motorway Service Stations Calendar - June

Number 6/June/50% Ticked off - Wetherby on the A1(M) 392 Miles according the google maps and averaged 38.8mpg! First stop was to see a friend with a mint mk2 Cavalier LX, then on to the services at Wetherby to enjoy the delights of a Greggs Breakfast, before driving over to Northwich to pick up some tyres & rims for another mates Cavalier as they were 'on the way' Now she can have a nice rest before conquering Chester services in July. PS i missed the 60k turn over as well and i hate mys
Roadtrips & Adventure

Motorway Service Stations Calendar - May

May Services ticked off - Stafford Southbound on the M6. 306 miles round trip @ 36 mpg, not bad for an old 1300 4 speed and even included a little trip Coventry First stop was to visit the car dealership that sold her back on the 5/6/1984 (name changed from George Cox Cars to W noble Motors) and then the old MOT station she used to frequent (BillandBobMOT) before maccy's at Welcome Break Stafford
The RedTop

Right then...

After 3.5+ years living over 5000 miles away, we’re finally coming home to the UK. And that means becoming active with MK2CAV.COM properly again.   Somehow, our weird little website started back in 1998 is STILL alive. Which honestly feels slightly miraculous considering the modern internet now mainly consists of doomscrolling, AI slop cat ninjas, ragebait and “what wheels fit?” posted 140 times a day by people who apparently fear the search function more than terminal rust. Comparativ
Roadtrips & Adventure

Motorway Service Stations Calendar - April

This time it was a close one.   #thegreencavvy never made it to Rustival as a week before the temperature gauge went into the red after a little local run about.   We changed the thermostat (3 times), flushed the engine, changed the water pump, replaced 2 hoses, took out the radiator and flushed it but each time straight into the red after 1 mile of driving.   Went to wire in a fan bypass switch and noticed the alternator was kicking out over 18volts! Swap
Roadtrips & Adventure

Motorway Service Stations Calendar - Feb

2 of 12 complete Stop number 2 of the Motorway Services calendar completed yesterday in the #greencavvy - 336 miles and she didn't miss a beat. This time for the journey i took my good friend Martin Drummie as well as my son and we met up with the lads at The Crap Car Collective (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1246037256564774) for tea and biscuits and an update on the Marina. Reading next month but i think #greencavvy has earned a rest and an oil change. #vauxhall #vauxhall
Roadtrips & Adventure

Motorway Service Stations Calender - Jan

I got my son a motorway service station calendar for xmas as a stocking filler and January is Ferrybridge Services on the m62 - a mere 229 miles round trip.   Armed with the latest ebay purchase of 'now thats what i call music' (correct age for the car) we started out at 10am and the #greencavvy #a32ltm  was absolutely magnificent as always despite the filthy weather. Got back at 15:40 and averaged about 33.5 mpg   Leeds Skelton to do in febuaray 
Roadtrips & Adventure

2025 - 2000 (approx) Mile British Road Trip inc NC500

VID-20250621-WA0013.mp4 .I 12th June 2025. Left Hampshire in E915CJM Cavalier 1.6 LX plus 1999 Nissan QX 3.0 driven by my son-in-law . Was due to take old Range Rover Classic as second car but transmission failed so the old QX was wheeled out. Ended up at Windermere. About 280 miles completed. Cavalier happy in the fast lane of the M6. 13th June 2025 headed for East Kilbride in Scotland where my son-in-law had some business. 460 miles completed. 14th June 2025 headed t
Technical Guides

Bosch Motronic Engine Codes

Bosch Motronic Systems12 Initiation of diagnosis. n/a13 Oxygen sensor No change in voltage/open circuit.14 Coolant Temperature Sensor (CTS) Low voltage15 Coolant Temperature Sensor (CTS) High voltage16 Knock sensor 1 No change in voltage17 Knock sensor 2 No change in voltage18 Knock control unit No signal, Engine Control Unit (ECU) fault19 RPM signal (crankshaft sensor) Incorrect signal21 Throttle position sensor High voltage22 Throttle position sensor Low voltage23 Knock sensor module n/a24 Veh
Technical Guides

Bosch Motronic 20XE / C20XE 4.1 / 2.5 / Overview

Put this together for my 20XE from a service manual. Found the entry for the 2.5 on the Corsa forum. Hope it's of some use! Mods/Admins: Feel free to make additions / extensions / corrections. NB: The 4.1 version is first, followed by the later 2.5 catalysed version that also has a dizzy.  Not for coilpack / dispak  setups per se (sorry Greg!), but these were similar to the 2.5 version which follows the 4.1 version.  NB: Early 20XE's - These first valvers may have different loom c
Technical Guides

Fix whistling / leaking fresh air centre vents

Hello there this is my first blog or even writing anything like this so I hope that it turns out OK and more importantly is easy to understand for someone that is this as a guide.  A special thanks goes to neilsri130 as this was originally his idea I just put together this blog of my representation of his idea. OK so here goes. Things that you will need: 1 Meter self adhesive door bottom draught excluder (You don't need the glue as shown in the picture but this can be used if
Roadtrips & Adventure

Brett's Great European Adventure - Part 1

7 weeks, 8 countries, 4763 miles, 1 Overly optimistic owner and 1 slightly unreliable 80's repmobile. This is the story of my adventure around Western Europe in a 1987 Mk2 Cavalier SRi OK, so firstly, yes this has taken me ages to get round to writing up!  A bit of background to why I managed to wangle such a long and eventful trip - I decided to quit work and spend all of 2015 travelling as much of the world as I could. Starting in May, I ended up in Thailand for 2 months, the USA for
Roadtrips & Adventure

Brett's Great European Adventure - Part 3

Here we are then, part 3 and the conclusion of my trip around Europe in my Cavalier SRi.  Picking up in Italy, I left Milan and Monza behind me having not broken any laws by breaking onto the track in the car..... just! Itallian organisation is something to behold. Or, sit in your old car in 35c heat in a traffic jam because they see fit to have 2 toll booths out of twenty open, all so they can rip you off for the privilege of driving on their dodgy Autostrada. Have I mentioned Italian moto
Roadtrips & Adventure

Brett's Great European Adventure - Part 2

Welcome back if you are still reading my ramblings of last years trip...   I will pick up from the campsite in Vence having just dodged the Tour de France, in the Alps above Nice. A couple of my mates were flying down from Holland to meet me for a weeks relaxation in Cannes and I was picking them up at Nice airport.  I'd put about a fair few miles on the car problem free by now and all was going well you could say guess. I was pleased and feeling confident, when suddenly the arse
Technical Guides

Fitting longer front subframe arms to a 1.3 or 1.6 shell

This has come up a few times now and as decent shells 1.8 & 2.0 become more scarce using lower spec cars as a project base makes more sense.   The main difference between the 1.3-1.6 shell and the 1.8-2.0 shell is that the 1.8-2.0 has a more beefy front subframe and crossmember setup. The issue is that you cannot simply transfer the subframe across. The longer subframe is located by 2 bolts in the centre while
  • Frisco
Technical Guides

Gear Ratios

3-Speed Automatic   1st  2.48 2nd 1.6 3rd  1.0     1300 Early 4 Speed:   1st 3.636 2nd 2.211 3rd 1.429 4th 0.969   Final Drive Gear 4.18 to 1   1600 Early 4 Speed:   1st 3.545 2nd 2.158 3rd 1.370 4th 0.971   Final Drive Gear 3.74 to 1   1600 Early 5 Speed SRi   1st 3.42 2nd 1.95 3rd 1.28 4th 0.89 5th 0.71   Final Drive 3.47 to 1     Mid Spec SRi 1800i   1st 3.42 2nd 2.16 3rd 1.48 4th 1.12 5th 0.89   Final Drive 3.94 to 1   Late Spec 2.0 SRi's   1st 3.4 2nd 2.2 3rd 1.5 4th 1.1 5th 0.89   Final Dr
  • andy
Technical Guides

F18 5th Gear into an F20

The idea of this mod is to give you better motorway cruising by fitting a WR 5th gear while keeping the decent acceleration of a CR 1st - 4th.   You could just go all fancy like Andy and fit an F28 but this is cheaper and gives you lower revs in 5th than the F28 in 6th.   I'm fitting a WR gear to my F20 but its the same procedure if you want to fit an F16WR 5th into your F16CR or if your fitting an F20 gear cluster into your F16 housing this is a worthwhile mod.   F16s all share the same select
  • andy
Technical Guides

Rear Disc Conversion

This is a basic how-to on converting to rear disc brakes using mk3 cav or astra hubs. This is a very simple swap and is very worthwhile since the disc setup brings both better braking and easier maintenance.   Now if your thinking of doing this I assume you can remove the beam yourself so im not going through that. The rear brakes will need to be bled afterward and there is a small bit of welding needed on the handbrake adjuster.   The easiest way to do it it to get your hands on a complete mk3
  • andy
Technical Guides

F20 Internals in an F16 Housing

This is a basic how-to on removing the internals from an F16/F20 so you can swap the housings over to allow you to keep your F16 housing.   1   Remove the gear selector turret by removing the four 11mm bolts at the base and giving it a tug and a wiggle.     Disconnecting the gear linkage can make this easier, if you do this make sure you split as in the pic below not by undoing the bolt on the shaft to save you having to reset the selector.     2  Next remove the reverse light switch. This is
  • andy

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